Last Thursday my ASTU 100 CLASS went to the University of British Columbia’s Archives to find original documents within the fond of Joy Kogawa. In her fond held beneath the Irving K. Barber learning center we found many different manuscripts that Joy Kogawa and other patrons donated that include but not limited to original drafts of her book Obasan, family trees, historical timelines, early rejection letters and editorial corrections. Within the plethora of flies, one manuscript that stood out to me and many people in my class was a letter addressed to Joy Kagawa from the Prime Minister at the time Pierre Trudeau (Picture below). It was truly an honour and quite honestly unthinkable to hold something written by on of Canada’s most celebrated Prime Ministers. The letter was surprisingly short as he said was he really said was, “Look forward to reading your book over the summer break.” Nonetheless a letter from the Prime Minister would be held is high esteem no matter how short the content. Not only is this letter astonishing because of its author but especially because of its connection and relevance to today as Prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s son Justin Trudeau is Canada’s most recently elected Prime Minister. However, it hit me on Monday night before I was going to bed that within the 30 year gap of time between the two prime ministers there has been a neglect or lack of focus with regard to Japanese internment camps in schools and history.

Despite the letter from the Prime minister “looking forward to reading the letter,” not much has changed in terms of the amount of discussion surrounding Japanese internment camps. An apology and monetary compensation had been issued to the survivors of Japanese internment caps, citing that Canada had mistreated an ethnic minority on groundless and unconstitutional circumstances. However, I feel as though this form of an apology as good and necessary as it is completely misses Joy Kagawa’s message of her book Oabasan. For me the message surrounding the book was about breaking silence in order to liberate oneself. In my opinion this has not been yet reached on a national level because I barely remember learning or even hearing about the atrocities committed in Japanese internment camps. Canada in general still does not focus on the horror that pertained to Japanese Canadians and I believe that Joy Kagawa would rather have children learn in schools what happened and know that it would not be repeated again instead of money for her suffering. Joy Kogawa’s suffering arguably ended at least in the book when she finally spoke to her mother and learned the truth about what happened to her. This is the direction that I think Canada needs to move in and whether it is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s making policy in schools and picking up where his father didn’t, I believe that it is ultimately up to Canadians to openly and honestly discuss and acknowledge what happened in Japanese internment camps in order to really implement Joy Kagawa’s message.

Letter from Prime Minister Trudeau.